NY legislator backs faster minimum wage hike to $9

ALBANY — The leader of New York’s Democrat-controlled Assembly wants to accelerate the state’s scheduled minimum wage increase to $9 by 2015 and tie it to the inflation rate.

Speaker Sheldon Silver says he’ll introduce legislation to do that.

The Assembly passed a bill this year to raise New York’s minimum hourly wage for most workers from $7.25 to $9 with inflation adjustments. A compromise approved by the Assembly, Senate and governor’s office raised the rate to $8 for 2014, $8.75 a year later and to $9 in 2016 without inflation adjustments.

Silver says that “poverty is not a fair reward” for people who work full time.

Assembly Republican leader Brian Kolb says that would stifle business growth, and “only in Albany” will someone ask for a second raise before they got the first one.